Dear Readers,
It’s not every day you get inspired to share your personal story with the public, but here we are, so bear with me if this seems a bit scattered, it’s my first time! I guess I’ll start with a little background about myself. I’m 29 years old, no kids, no spouse and have lived in Atlanta for about 5 years now. I’ve always been pretty fit – standing at 5’8” and weighing 140lbs, give or take a few donuts (sorry Dr. Whiteman I know, I know – I’m not supposed to be fluctuating weight before my plastic surgery procedures but I’m trying to fit everything in before I make the change for good!). All through elementary, middle and high school I was a competitive swimmer with very little body fat to my name thanks to twice a day workouts and a lot of time in the weight room. Fast forward to today and everything has seemed to sloooooow down, including my metabolism and confidence. The dining hall food from the University of Georgia, nights out on the town with my friends and less gym time than before has left me with a bit of a permanent food baby that I can’t seem to get rid of. On top of that I can barely fill out my size 36A bra without feeling like my shirt is going to get swallowed up by my bra. I can’t say I’ve ever been one to consider plastic surgery before now; those who know me were actually surprised to hear that I have not been entirely happy with the way I look. Don’t get me wrong, I understand nobody is perfect and wholeheartedly believe beauty is really in the eye of the beholder, but I decided that I wanted to do something for myself; something that makes me happy and is entirely my own.
There’s been a lot of buzz in the media about the stigma of plastic surgery shifting and I’ll be the first to admit I was one of those “I’ll never get plastic surgery…blah blah blah” people until recently. Sadly when I was younger (and dare I say more naïve) I was one of those who saw it as a vanity and a complete waste of money, but as I’ve grown I realize that plastic surgery is no different than buying a particular purse or pair of shoes because they make us feel good about our look. I’m so used to hiding my body under baggy clothes in the hopes that nobody will mistake my breasts for bee stings or my stomach pooch for a fanny pack, but why should I feel that way? Before you judge and think I just need to get on a treadmill, trust me, I’ve tried that. It got to a point where no matter how much I watched my diet and exercise regularly, nothing would budge. That’s about the time that I decided to stop wallowing and do something…so I started a little research on body contouring procedures.
Nonsurgical treatments prove that technology and science can accomplish amazing things. But for me, that’s not enough because I want something that’s longer lasting. I did some research on plastic surgeons in the Atlanta area; male, female, old and young – you name it and I probably goggled it. For me, doing the research was exciting because it was the first time I was actively working towards my goal so I started with an online community detailing procedures and real patient experiences to get an idea of what I could potentially be going through. Sure it was a bit overwhelming and got a bit daunting trying to figure out who was worth meeting for a consultation and who wasn’t, but I felt like I was investing more into my procedure and not being hasty like I tend to do.
Once I met with Dr. David Whiteman, it was a wrap. It was during my consultation that we talked about my stomach pooch and he explained that I was an excellent liposuction candidate because I only had a small amount of fat to address and was already in great health. What I wasn’t expecting was learning that combination procedures were a “thing.” I honestly hadn’t factored breast augmentation into my procedure because I thought I wouldn’t be able to afford more than one procedure. But I was wrong! Dr. Whiteman and his staff did such a great job at giving me ALL the materials I needed as far as financing, what to expect during my procedure and lots of visuals (I’m a visual learner so before and after pictures are my jam) that I was sold on combining a breast augmentation and liposuction for my upcoming procedure. The reason I decided to do them both at the same time is because I don’t have unlimited vacation days and it actually saved me money by not having to pay surgical fees more than once! That, plus my recovery time was not going to be as long as I thought. Sure it’s not an exact science but just a few short days/weeks sounded extremely reasonable to me.
So here I am, writing this as I stare at my calendar with my surgery date circled in obnoxious exclamation points. Right now I’m not nervous…well maybe a little, but it’s an excited nervous because I can’t wait to see what my plastic surgery results are going to look like! I’m already planning my new wardrobe, have started hitting the gym more to work on underlying muscle tone and added just about every bra on Victoria’s Secret website to my wish list for when I get out of surgery. When Dr. Whiteman asked if I would share my story in a series I thought he was crazy, but I’ve found this is sort of a nice outlet to express what I’m going through leading up to my big day. As I wrap up this long diatribe, I kindly ask everyone to put their judgments aside for a second and consider the underlying reasons so many people willingly choose cosmetic surgery. It’s a very personal matter for me, an intimately personal choice and one that I know I am making on my own – free of judgment or pressures from others. For once it’s about me and I couldn’t be more proud of myself for taking these steps.
The internet is only able to cover so much and it’s not until I was face to face with my future surgeon that my dream became more of a reality than I ever expected. There’s no pressure to you or the doctor to just have a conversation but it’s the only way I would recommend getting started. You may be just as surprised as I was. Just remember, do it because YOU want to – forget the haters!